A reaction to Baroque or Rococo decorative excesses, archaeologically correct Classical forms are employed within a rational architectural system using pure geometry and resulting in solid and restrained buildings with little or no decoration.

artistic movement of the latter half of the 18th century excited by the scholarly rediscovery of antiquity in Italy and Greece causing a fervour for all forms of classical decoration, differing from other classical revivals by its strict adherence to scholarship and authenticity

This was an architectural style which attempted to emulate Grecian and Romanesque building design and principles. It used exacting relationships in proportions and geometry, employing greater simplicity, and reducing ornate decoration in contrast to the excesses of Baroque and Rococo. See (Palladian). It has left a legacy of some of the most elegant and bold buildings to be found in the architectural landscape. Examples - St Paul's Cathedral, The Bank of England, Banqueting House. Here (right) we see the Lincoln Memorial, Washington D.C.